Gee, It’s Hot

Good morning all! I’m sipping my morning coffee; a Cinnamon Spice Starbucks VIA. I need to place an 11th Street Coffee order today. My wonderful cousin, having read my Tweet about the VIA before we left for vacation and knowing that we don’t have a close Dunkin Donuts, sent me a box of Dunkin K-Cups. That was an awesome surprise when we got back! Since we were leaving for over a week, I wasn’t placing a coffee order or going to the grocery store the week before so my morning coffee was VIA Colombia. While I definitely like the VIA Columbia, The Dunkin Donuts coffee is the absolute taste of comfort for me!


Not a lot going on in Toledo this morning. The big story is the weather, mainly the HOT weather. David mentioned that he’d probably end up writing a weather story today. Headline: “Gee, it’s hot!” I’ve read several sources they predict over 100 for tomorrow! National Weather Service says 101 and Google says 106! The hottest it’s ever been in Toledo is 105, so 106 would definitely be a record breaker. I say bring it!

That’s not me craving heat! Over 100 is even too hot for terminally cold me, but like if you’re buying a new car and want a sun roof, get a car with a sunroof, add it on to the loan. It’s not like you’re paying cash without the sunroof and spread out over the life of the loan you won’t even notice it whereas it might be too expensive after market. Point being; if you’re going to spend the money on a car anyway, get it all. If it’s going to be over 100 anyway, break a record! Hopefully that means that we don’t need to go over 100 again. We’ll see how that works, but if we’re all going to be uncomfortable anyway, let’s be part of an historical event!

1. What do the words 'freedom' and 'liberty' mean to you? Does your mind go more in the direction of not being persecuted or discriminated against or does it head in the direction of doing what you please?

Freedom to me is all about taking the responsibility of respecting and being respected. It’s having my individual rights and my own choices without senseless persecution. If you’ve read any of my rants here, you know that I have little tolerance for those who insist that everyone does it their way when not doing it their way has no effect on them or their own ability to do it their way. I don’t insist that anyone marries who I tell them to, dresses how I say to or drinks coffee every morning because I do. Those things don’t make a difference in my own ability to be married to my husband, wear a sweater in the summer or have my morning coffee. I’m also not going to change any of those things because someone else says I should. My marriage, dress and coffee habits make no difference on their marriage, what they wear or the fact that they prefer tea.

Freedom and liberty are not just doing what I want, but it’s not judging or being judged where no judgment is warranted.



2. Nathan's sponsors a hot dog eating contest every 4th of July. Last year over 40,000 people attended the event and almost 2 million watched it on TV. The winner ate over 60 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. How do you like your hot dogs?

First off I hate gluttony contests. The concept of eating quickly until you throw up when there are people starving anywhere is disgusting to me. But, back to that last question, to each his own. I choose not to watch those displays.

I love hot dogs! I eat “snouts and tails” dogs, never all-beef, at the ball park and Ball Park Turkey Dogs at home. Two is my usual limit on the turkey dogs, one on the snouts and tails and always mustard, just mustard. When I was little that was all they had for hot dogs at Tiger Stadium and I came to know just mustard as the only way to eat a “real” hot dog!


3. If you were going to enter an eating contest what would be on the menu?

Again, never will, but ice cream, definitely ice cream.


4. Do you run your house more as a dictatorship or a democracy?

I’d say a dictatorship, but the cats are benevolent dictators.

I am so opposed to the idea of running a family unit as a dictatorship. My brother has that notion and I don’t know where he got it from. We weren’t raised that way.

Our home was, in political model terms, a communist state when we were very little. We did things to the best of our ability and were provided for equally by “the government,” Mom and Dad. As we got older we moved into a democracy where in our capitalist world we did our chores and got our allowances with opportunities to do extra things for an increase in pay. When there were things happening, rules changing, curfews etc., we had a voice; sometimes it was a vote and sometimes the government listening to our concerns before making a decision. That form of household “government,” that grew as the family grew, fostered mutual respect between parents and kids.

I’m not naive enough to believe I was a totally equal person in my parents’ home. Any of us totally equal to members of our government? But I felt respected as a member of the family and made choices with much less selfish considerations, even as a teenager. So did Dave, but he forgets. (Judgmental big sister grumble)


5. Where was your favorite summer place when you were a kid?

Everywhere around town! Summer started with Vacation Bible School at the Baptist Church and we did stuff with the youth group all summer, we had passes at the high school pool for swimming and there were arts and crafts at a few of the schools. I can’t say I loved any of them more than the others; I always had great summers!


6. Do you have a guest room? Would you want to stay there?

No and no. We have a lot of work to do on our house before I’d invite anyone over! The house is a perennial work in progress.


7. Next Wednesday America celebrates her independence. Do you have any special plans for the 4th of July? If you live outside the USA when and how does your country celebrate its own patriotic holiday?

I don’t really have any plans. I usually wear red, white and blue, red and white on Canada Day (July 1) too, and I try to find someplace to see some fireworks.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Credits: Thanks A Mellon by Blue Heart Scraps

For my random thought today I’m sharing a scrapbook layout and a “recipe.” Recipe is in quotes because it’s more an idea than a recipe. In 2008, a few days before we left on a Labor Day trip, Pop gave me a whole watermelon. I love watermelon, but don’t buy whole ones because we wouldn’t eat it all before it spoiled. Well, since we were leaving, my idea was that I’d cut up what was left and see how it froze. After forgetting it was in the freezer, I pulled out the frozen watermelon cubes in October! I shaved down the cubes in the blender and it made wonderful watermelon slush! It’s actually a great summer dessert idea and it’s watermelon; a wonderful frozen treat for kids! The “recipe” is chop-freeze-crush and serve!